Pinotage excites Old Mutual Judges

Some interesting comments about Pinotage from the judges of this years Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show.

Simon Tam said he was asked what he was looking for with Pinotage he replied

"'I've no bloody idea' and I still don't. I do know one thing and that is that Pinotage is capable of producing in many different personalities some really sublime wines and those are some delicious memories I will take away with me."

Angela Lloyd reported

"There was one which was my wine of the whole tasting, which I hope comes from a cooler area. It was much more Pinot like, tighter, had a nice sort of fynbos quality to it; something really individual which you felt came from where it was grown. The other ones which are fuller, richer wines also lovely characters, miles away from that old acetone, rusty nails, whatever, not over-oaked.

And if the Viognier wasn't found in the Shiraz, we think some of it's come across to the Pinotage. Carefully used with some benefit, but again Viognier is a pushy bloody grape and if you put more than just a dab in and it'll overpower the grape that's really the dominant one, specially if Pinotage is on the label.

Cabernet I felt had less character than the Pinotage"

Gary Jordan said

"Pinotage blends was a very small class, but there is a wine there that is fantastic."

Chairman Michael Fridjhon remarked on

"the palpable strength of the Pinotage class. When I walk in as Show Chairman and there's this kind of line-up of stuff that they want to show me for gold, I'm thinking we can't have ten Pinotage golds, we've got to knock a few of them out.

The truth of the matter is that is was a really lovely class. There is a statement in the number of golds coming out of it, but one thing is absolutely clear, the days of judging Pinotage being a little bit of a penance are over. It had excitement, it has fruit sweetness, it had fewer faults than ever and it's certainly something worth discussing at greater length."

Read the full report of the Judges Feedback Session at WineMag.co.za. Results of the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show will be released later this month

Hartenberg win Best Pinotage Trophy

In Cape Town yesterday, Hartenberg 2004 was awarded the best Pinotage Trophy at the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show 2007. The competition, sponsored by the Old Mutual finance company, is a national competition that seeks to identify the top wines in South Africa.

The same wine also won the Old Mutual Trophy for Discovery of the Show (Best Value).

Other winning Pinotages were:

Silver Medal

• Hidden Valley 2004
• Diemersfontein Carpe Diem 2005

Bronze Medal

• Lindhorst 2005
• Laibach 2005
• Longridge 2004
• Perdeberg 2006
• PK Morkel 2004
• Meerendal 1995 – Museum Class

Judge Neil Beckett (editor of the World of Fine Wine and member of the Grand Jury European) said of the Pinotage entries “ An interesting class, we had a higher proportion of faults - brettanomyces (brett) or reduction or VA. On the other hand, there were a great number of wines, especially those on the Pinot side of the parentage, where real elegance and finesse is more evident.”

Fellow judge Cathy van Zyl MW said “A fair number of faults but also a fair number of decent, smart wines. We didn't see much evidence of the tutti frutti style and not too much of a strongly acetone style.”

So that’s another wine to add to the list that I have yet to encounter. I did taste their 2003 at the winery earlier this year and enjoyed it (medium bodied, sweet rush of fruits of the forest flavours), but I must admit that Hartenberg has been below my Pinotage radar.

Winemaker Jaco van der Merwe told me that Hartenberg had planted Pinotage quite recently and that 2001 was their first vintage.

Well done Hartenberg!

For all results see www.winemag.co.za/content/online/trophywineshow/2007/review.asp

It is interesting to note that of the 50 entries in thePinotage category, 18% won an award while the Shiraz category had 151 entries but only gained 11.26% awards